East Surrey Hospital not affected by baby drip contaminations

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East Surrey Hospital has confirmed it has not received any contaminated batches of baby feed, which is reported to have infected at least 18 newborns across the country.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages the hospital in Redhill, was responding to national reports of babies being cared for in neonatal units developing blood poisoning from a suspected contaminated drip.

Many are said to be responding to antibiotic treatment, but one of the babies has died.

This morning (Friday May 6) a spokesman for the hospital trust said staff had carried out double and triple checks on the batches it has received.

She said: “Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust can confirm that the contaminated batches were not supplied to us and there is no indication that any other manufacturer or batches are affected, therefore none of our patients have been affected.”

The manufacturer of the feed, ITH Pharma, has said it was “saddened” by what has happened.

Speaking yesterday ITH Pharma managing director Karen Hamling said: “As a mother, as a pharmacist, as someone who has worked for 30 years in healthcare, inside and outside the NHS, I am deeply saddened that one baby has died and 14 others have fallen ill from septicaemia.

“as managing director of ITH Pharma want to reassure you today that we are doing everything possible to help the regulators, the MHRA, to establish exactly what has happened in this case.

“We have instituted a recall of the limited number of batches which could have been potentially affected and all stock has been removed from circulation.

”Given this action there is no reason for patients, their families or health professionals to be concerned.

“From investigations carried out so far, it would appear the potential contamination is linked to a sourced single raw material ingredient.”

She added that in the past 12 months it had provided 800,000 products of this kind to patients around the UK.